Awards, Oct 30, 2008

The following awards have been presented for work in advocacy, fund raising, nonprofit leadership, philanthropy, and other areas:

Arts. Americans for the Arts (Washington) has announced the winners of its National Arts Awards, which recognize artists and supporters of the arts who show national leadership and extraordinary artistic achievement. The awards and winners:

— Arts Advocacy Award: Phil Ramone, record producer

— Corporate Citizenship in the Arts Award: J. Barry Griswell, chief executive of Principal Financial

— Frederick R. Weisman Award for Philanthropy in the Arts: Joan W. Harris

— Kitty Carlisle Hart Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts: Yoko Ono, artist and musician

— Lifetime Achievement Award: Julie Andrews, actress

— Young Artist Award for Artistic Excellence: Kehinde Wiley, visual artist

Education. The Eli and Edythe L. Broad Foundation (Los Angeles) has presented the 2008 Broad Prize for Urban Education to the Brownsville Independent School District (Tex.). The annual distinction honors an urban school district that has demonstrated great improvement in student achievement while closing achievement gaps across ethnic and income groups. The $1-million award will finance scholarships for high-school seniors who will attend college. Four finalists each received $250,000 for scholarships: Aldine Independent School District (Tex.), Broward County Public Schools (Fla.), Long Beach Unified School District (Calif.), and Miami-Dade County Public Schools (Fla.).

Historic preservation. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has announced the 2008 winners of the Louise du Pont Crowninshield Award, the highest honor it gives for national preservation. Mark Michel, president and co-founder of the Archaeological Conservancy (Albuquerque), was honored for the work his organization has done to save more than 365 archaeological sites across the country. Jane Blaffer Owen was recognized for her efforts to preserve and revitalize the historic Indiana town of New Harmony, which was founded as a utopian society in 1825.

International. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (Chicago) has honored Richard J. Goldstone, former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, as the winner of its MacArthur Award for International Justice. The award provides Mr. Goldstone with $100,000 for his own work and enables him to select a nonprofit group that supports international justice as the recipient of an additional $500,000 grant from the foundation.

Poverty. Mercy Corps (Portland, Ore.) has announced the recipients of its annual Global Action Award. The awards are given to American students who have taken outstanding actions to fight poverty worldwide.

The winners, who will each receive $5,000 to further their education or support a poverty-fighting cause of their choice:

— Ana Slavin (Sherborn, Mass.) and Nick Anderson (Conway, Mass.). They started the “Dollars for Darfur” virtual campaign which, in its first year, raised more than $300,000 and involved more than 7,000 high-school students in helping the people of Darfur.

— Sindhu Ravishankar (Cary, N.C.). She raised money and collected eyeglass frames for her “Vivid Vision” project, which helped almost 1,000 people in two rural Indian villages receive free eye care.

— Katie Simon (Newton, Mass.). She created a charity, Minga, to build rehabilitation centers in the Philippines and Guatemala for recovering child prostitutes.